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A warning for anyone who shopped at Target stores since Thanksgiving: Your debit and credit card information may now be in the hands of hackers. Chase Cain and Scott Budman report. (Published Thursday, Dec 19, 2013)

Updated at 10:32 PM PST on Thursday, Dec 19, 2013

A warning for anyone who shopped at Target stores since Thanksgiving: Your debit and credit card information may now be in the hands of hackers.

"Approximately 40 million credit and debit card accounts may have been impacted between Nov. 27 and Dec. 15, 2013," Target said Thursday in a statement on its website.

The Secret Service earlier confirmed it was investigating the breach beginning on Black Friday weekend, and which reportedly involved nearly all Target stores nationwide.

Target: 40M Credit, Debit Cards Possibly Hacked

A warning for anyone who shopped at Target stores since Thanksgiving: Your debit and credit card information may now be in the hands of hackers. Peggy Bunker reports (Published Thursday, Dec 19, 2013)

"They are taking from cash registers essentially, called point of sale," said Don Baarns, a tech expert. "Grabbing data before it gets to computers, taking it and using it to steal money out of people's accounts."

"My number is out there in cyberspace," said Chuck Petersen of Santa Clara, who was shopping at a Target in San Jose on Coleman Avenue. "And everything they know about me is in cyberspace, and if someone really wanted to get into my account, I'm sure they could do it."

Christina Long, a shopper at a Los Angeles Target said: "I mean, it's just scary. My mom always tells me to use credit. Don't do debit because this can happen, and I don't listen to her. I guess I should listen to her now or use cash."

World's Costliest Heists

Investigators believe the data stored in the cards' magnetic strips was hacked at Target cash registers, according to the security industry blog Krebs on Security, which first reported the breach and cited sources from two credit card issuers.

"Target alerted authorities and financial institutions immediately after it was made aware of the unauthorized access, and is putting all appropriate resources behind these efforts," Target said. "Among other actions, Target is partnering with a leading third-party forensics firm to conduct a thorough investigation of the incident."

Identity theft is the fastest growing property crime in America, according to the Federal Trade Commission, the Bay Area is at the center of it all, ranking No. 72 among metropolitan areas, with 4,521 complaints filed in 2012.